After 25 years of Measure J, Davis must confront the reality that the policy has not produced the desired results of better projects and housing outcomes, but has instead entrenched a system of rejection, delay, and unmet state obligations.
The Davis City Council voted unanimously to advance the Village Farms development to a citywide ballot, approving a series of entitlements, amendments and agreements that set the framework for one of the largest housing proposals in city history.
A recent poll on Nextdoor shows that the Village Farms proposal is overwhelmingly unpopular and has no chance of passing, with only 15% support and a one in 100 quintillion chance of passing.
The Village Farms project in Davis lacks a comprehensive flood plan and relies on unproven engineering design principles, posing a major flood risk to the city and its residents.
The City Council must deny certification of the Village Farms EIR due to its inadequate and flawed nature, which would expose the City to liability and surrender its leverage to correct course on the disastrous project.
The Village Farms Davis project has been designed to meet higher flood protection standards than the rest of Davis, and includes proven engineering solutions to protect against flooding, such as raising the elevation of the land, rebuilding and redirecting the Covell Ditch, and constructing a large basin.
The Davis City Council reached a tentative agreement to include 100 deed-restricted low-income affordable housing units in the Village Farms project, while adjusting the timing of the units in relation to market-rate development in Phase 3.
The Davis Citizens Planning Group has expressed concern that the proposed Village Farms and Willowgrove projects will not provide affordable housing for families with elementary school-aged children, and that the district’s proposed solution of closing schools will not address the underlying issue of unaffordable housing.
The City Council should not accept the latest iteration of the Affordable Housing Plan for Village Farms due to its lack of critical elements, such as VLI and LI units, and its failure to maximize funding opportunities.
The Davis City Council is considering the Affordable Housing Plan for the Village Farms project, which has sparked debate about growth, affordability, and the viability of the city’s voter-approval framework for peripheral development.
The Davis City Council’s pre-selection of alternatives for the Village Farms EIR, before the environmental impact analysis had even begun, has raised concerns about potential bias and a lack of good faith in the process.
The Davis City Council is considering the Village Farms project, which has been met with opposition due to flood risk concerns, but the project’s design meets or exceeds applicable safety standards and regulations, and the city’s flood risks are relatively modest compared to other cities in the Central Valley.
California’s state housing laws are beginning to generate housing, with 20 large proposed or master-planned housing developments across the state representing over 273,000 housing units, demonstrating the state’s efforts to address the housing crisis.
Davis Joint Unified School District’s enrollment projections show a decline in resident students over the next decade, which is expected to be partially offset by an increase in interdistrict transfers, but not enough to reverse the trend.
The Davis City Council meeting exposed a widening fault line in how the city approaches affordable housing, as the discussion shifted away from progress and toward demands for hard guarantees, which could potentially kill the project and discourage future developers from pursuing projects in Davis.
The City of Davis is considering revisions to the existing Measure J/R/D Affordable Housing exemption in order to meet the Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) targets and maintain control over housing development.
The Davis Planning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend the City Council certify the Village Farms Environmental Impact Report and move the proposed 1,800-unit development toward a June 2026 ballot measure, despite some commissioners’ concerns about the project’s potential environmental and safety impacts.
The Davis City Council is divided over how to guarantee affordable housing in a proposed development, with some councilmembers arguing for baseline guarantees and others advocating for a development agreement that could be amended in the future.
The Village Farms proposal and its PIP are not sufficiently clarified and do not meet the necessary requirements to be certified or approved, including the lack of moderate income ownership units, unclear funding streams, and the need for more 2 and 3 bedroom units.
The Davis City Council discussed the proposed Village Farms project, which includes 1,800 housing units, 280 of which would be affordable, and the need for long-term maintenance funding, with some councilmembers expressing support and others expressing concerns about the project’s affordability and environmental impact.